Newport man sentenced to 10 years for rape

Charles Lindberg Gillikin III was sentenced by presiding Judge Ben Alford to 8 to 10 years in prison under the N.C. Department of Correction.

BEAUFORT — A Carteret County man will serve up to 10 years in prison following his conviction this week of second degree rape.

Charles Lindberg Gillikin III was convicted of the sex offense by a Carteret County jury following nearly three house of deliberation, according to District Attorney Scott Thomas.

Gillikin, 35, of Newport, was sentenced by presiding Judge Ben Alford to 8 to 10 years in prison under the N.C. Department of Correction.

The Wednesday trial was the second for Gillikin for the same offense.

Gillikin was previously tried and convicted for the same crime in 2010. He appealed that case, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial after determining an improper instruction to the jury had been provided in the first trial, Thomas said.

With this week’s conviction, Gillikin is required to register with the North Carolina sex offender registry for life and will be subject to lifelong satellite-based monitoring, following his release from prison.

“We are pleased with the jury verdict in this matter, and hope that it brings some closure to the victim,” Thomas said in a statement. “The citizens of Carteret County should also take comfort in knowing that this defendant will be off the streets for years to come. We are committed to pursuing justice for victims of sexual assaults.”

The case was prosecuted in court by Assistant District Attorney David Spence.